AMIENS, Florida, March 16. SWEDEN’s Sarah Sjostrom closed out a particularly productive meet at the Golden Lanes competition in Amiens, France with a Swedish national record.

Typically a sprinter, Sjostrom has been so on point this week that she decided to try her hand at the 400-meter freestyle, and it was a great choice. She obliterated the Swedish record with a 4:06.04 in the middle distance event. That swim smashed Gabriella Fagundez’s mark of 4:10.20 from the 2008 European Championships, and now give Sjostrom her fifth Swedish record. The time also vaulted Sjostrom to fourth in the world behind only Katie Ledecky (4:04.46), Jessica Ashwood (4:05.01) and Jazmin Carlin (4:05.56).

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu picked up second-place honors in 4:07.90 in an event she typically would have dominated. That swim pushed her to eighth in the world rankings. France’s Camille Muffat wound up third in 4:08.63, just off her 10th-ranked season best of 4:08.35.

Sjostrom followed that swim up with a sizzling 53.65 in the women’s 100-meter free. That moved her to second in the world behind only Cate Campbell’s swift 53.08 from Australia in January. The Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk took second in 54.22 to move to seventh in the world, while Sweden’s Michelle Coleman earned third in 54.73.

The Netherlands’ Maaike De Waard clipped Hosszu by the slimmest of margins, 28.73 to 28.74, in the women’s 50-meter backstroke finale. That swim pushed De Waard to 10th in the world rankings. Meanwhile, Femke Heemskerk earned third in 28.86.

Hosszu won her first gold of the night with a 2:15.06 in the women’s 200-meter fly. She’s been much faster with a fifth-ranked 2:08.47 from the Arena Grand Prix, but didn’t need that type of time tonight. France’s Isabelle Mabboux placed second in 2:16.63 with Justine Bruno winding up third in 2:17.90.

Hosszu doubled up with a 2:11.46 in the women’s 200-meter IM. Again, it’s slower than her sixth-ranked season best of 2:10.97, but was enough to get the job done against Evelyn Verraszto’s second-place time of 2:13.23. France’s Charlotte Bonnet touched third in 2:13.38.

The Netherlands’ Moniek Nijhuis pushed her way to seventh in the world rankings in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke with a winning time of 31.51. France’s Adeline Williams placed second in 32.55 with compatriot Chloe Cazier finishing third in 32.81.

Although Sjostrom and Hosszu have earned top billing with their impressive performances, France’s Jeremy Stravius has certainly been accumulating plenty of gold medals. He did so again to start the night with a 25.18 in the men’s 50-meter back. That swim jumped him to fifth in the world rankings. His teammate Eddie Moueddene took second in 26.37 with The Netherlands’ Laurent Bams taking third in 26.73.

Stravius doubled up with a 1:58.60 to 1:58.67 touchout triumph ahead of Sweden’s Simon Sjodin in the men’s 200-meter fly. Jordan Coelho also proved to be in the thick of it with a third-place 1:58.99. Meanwhile, Moueddene came back in the men’s 50-meter breast with a 28.48 for the win. Senegal’s Malik Fall took second in 29.30 with France’s Jean Dencausse placing third in 29.43.

France’s Joris Bouchaut won the men’s 400-meter freestyle finale in 3:55.09 with The Netherlands’ Maarten Brzoskowski taking second in 3:56.39. France’s Nicolas D’Oriano earned third in 3:57.35. Sjodin captured the men’s 200-meter IM in 2:01.21. David Verraszto took second in 2:02.38 with The Netherlands’ Sebas Van Lith finishing third in 2:04.74. The Netherlands’ Kyle Stolk prevailed in the men’s 100-meter free with a 51.20, while France’s Lorys Bourelly took second in 51.31. Sweden’s Mattias Carlsson finished third in 51.63.

Author: Jason Marsteller

Jason Marsteller is the general manager of digital properties at Swimming World. He joined Swimming World in June 2006 as the managing editor after previous stints as a media relations professional at Indiana University, the University of Tennessee, Southern Utah University and the Utah Summer Games.